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Monday, December 7, 2015

I haven't updated here in so long! I've been so busy mothering 3 kids and working on my fine art full time. It's been CRAZY!!! An update on the family is long overdue. Time is so slim these days. As in, I never shower kind of slim. sigh! I've been working hard for good reason...
I just finished a line of coastal paintings and a new website design over at www.megancartyart.com. These coastal pieces are so unique; they aren't your boring everyday seascape...they use vibrant color in an abstract way yet show boats or other bits in the foreground with more realistic detail in comparison. They are my version of a fun, stylish, modern, and colorful take on a very traditional subject. I LOVE these for a nursery or office or powder room. I'm excited to see how this body of work expands as I am currently working on huge pieces that are perfect for "over the couch" or in the dining room.

You can follow me on Instagram: @megan_carty_art to see my process and pieces as I go.

Or, you can head over to Megan Carty Art and sign up for my newsletter there; you'll get a free printable download of a coastal piece and you'll be updated monthly on new work, deals, and freebies. Awww, yeah!

Monday, August 31, 2015

Today Paige hopped on the bus and went off to First Grade! She was so excited; but all I could see was my little girl turning into a little lady. I'm so proud of her; she has worked so hard to get to this point and she continues to strive and thrive. I'm a lucky Mom.

Thursday, August 27, 2015

It's done! (sorry for the dark shot...it was early morning when I took this with my phone). I'm definitely doing more of these...I'm a color fanatic and this was SO FUN to make. I could do it with the kids around AND it didn't take forever and a day to do! Perfect for a busy Mom. More to come!!!

My friend's son Jack (15 years old!) recently worked with me to create my artist profile video...it explains a bit about why I create and how my purpose has been revealed to me. I hope you like it! Thank you Jack; you captured my personality perfectly! Follow him on Instagram! (@j.vo)...I think he's got a bright future!

Saturday, August 15, 2015

Oh boy! Mothering 3 small kiddos is exhausting for sure. It takes up most of my time (of course!) so my painting practice hasn't been as often as I'd like. That's the season I'm in! I am taking a little animal portrait break to work on some fun, bright, abstract pieces...perfect for a colorful room focal-point.
Here's the first stage of my newest piece (in my messy studio)...the first layer is always the most boring; but it has to happen! I've gotta let this dry before I can do all the fun stuff on top! Be sure to check back to see the progress here! (You can follow the progress on Instagram by following me @meandwee). Meanwhile I will be cleaning spitup, washing laundry, doing dishes, moderating fights, having dance parties, making all manner of meals and snacks, cleaning messes, reading stories, and all other manner of mothering duties. School's about to start soon!!!!

Saturday, August 1, 2015

Here is Paige (and Maren the wonder-dog) proudly standing by her Fairy House she made after I "forced" her to stay outside and play.

Welcome to August! The time we cling to summer like a desperate ex-love. There is still much fun to be had though, so let’s keep at it! My son (age 3) and daughter (age 6) are learning all about the phrases “Go play!!!!” and “Go Outside!” I’m so done with all the Pinterest tips extolling all the fun activities I can do with my kids. I’m tired of the blogs, books, and television media outlets defining the ways I can “entertain my children all summer long!” Here’s the thing: I’m a MOTHER not a cruise director! So, while I love to do planned activities during the day for quality time (no, I'm not shunning all activities!) I also have a 6 month old baby to tend to and tons of junk to do around the house…not to mention working on my paintings and prints. So, I’ve been taking a cue from 1984 (when I was a kid) where I was constantly told to get outside and play. I had fun. Messy muddy fun. And now I tell my kids to do the same. Sure, I had to lock them out of the sliding glass door at first until they got used to having the freedom to make up their own games in the yard. HA! Now, my daughter says “Mom, I LOVE outside! It used to be boring but now it’s fun!” She’s tasted freedom and wants more. Are the kids dirtier now? YES! Are they messier now? YES! But, they are also more tired (Wheee!) and more satisfied. They are happy and content. AND I don’t need to come up with more ways to occupy them so they are learning to use their noggins for themselves. I LOVE summer now and I just may be sad when school starts again at the end of the month. Maybe.

Friday, July 31, 2015

Hi friends!
The August newsletter is about to go out to anyone who has signed up for it and I have a set of free printable greeting cards for personal use in there for download. Woot Woot! I figured I'd do a quick tutorial here for anyone who wants to print them. (subscribe to the newsletter HERE if you haven't!)
Firstly, the cards are A2 size. I like to get my colored envelopes for personal use from Paper-Source, but you can get A2 size envelopes most places online that sell envelopes.
When you click the image to download the cards, you will get a PDF file that you can open in Acrobat Reader. I have my printer settings adjusted to print to a full 8.5x11 letter size/actual size. I set this up in "Page Setup" and again after I hit "print" to make sure it's all the same.

Once it prints out, you simply face the paper in a portrait orientation and cut across the center at the 5.5 inch mark (exactly half of the paper). This gives you two distinct cards.

Score the card across the middle. I use a special bone folder for this.

See a video of what I mean...

If you don't have one, you can take a ruler to the center of the card and press the edge of the blunt side of a butter knife into the paper along the ruler. This "scores" the paper (leaves an indented line along where it folds). This indented line makes it easy to fold the card in half and makes the fold nice and crisp without bunching or denting.

I hope this helps make creating your cards easier!

I hope you enjoy your cards and remember it is illegal to resell these or claim them as your own. They are for personal use only. Don't make me give you a legal migraine! Thanks!

Monday, July 13, 2015

Hi friends!
I've got a whole bunch of woodland critter nursery art prints all finished up and ready to go! I'm so excited with how they came out. Paige (age 6 now!) begged for me to put the unicorn print up in her room and I was happy to oblige! I recently showed a few of the original paintings of these at a local art show I did and the children who walked by all stopped and gushed about them and wanted one for themselves (each one had their own favorite!).

It felt so awesome to see children in "real life" enjoyed my artwork and they were enthusiastic about it enough to want it for their rooms. I noticed those kids were around 8 years old or so. The prints work great for baby rooms but also work great for older kids' rooms too because they don't look babyish...they grow with your kids. I sold some to adults who favored a certain animal too...good for their office space or craft room. Win!

I have two sizes of prints for sale: 12x12 inch and 8x8 inch. The larger prints are the size of a standard vinyl record album cover. They are great when framed; they aren't too big or too small and work well hung in a set. The 8x8 are smaller and work well framed standing upright on a dresser. A friend of mine has a whole series of them framed and hung in a row lining her daughter's bedroom wall...really cool! I will continually add to this line of animals; I'm currently working on a raccoon and a chipmunk as I write this. Do you have a favorite critter you'd like to see? Feel free to comment below!

The original paintings of these are for sale at Megan Carty Art. They are 5x5 inch acryla gouache paintings on aquabord (like clayboard). I did the little accessories on watercolor paper, trimmed them out, and used archival gel medium to glue them onto the painting. I like the little added dimension of that. They also come with a cute little display easel. I think this style would be great for your own small custom pet portrait. Please email me at megan@megancartyart.com if you are interested in something like that!

Here's a little high-speed movie of one being created:

The prints are archival giclee (this means they are done on super-fancy thick cotton paper with fade-proof professional inks) so they are made to last and be of the highest quality.
I hope you like them as much as I do!

Wednesday, July 8, 2015

I've created a new website just for my art: www.megancartyart.com. I hope you like it and that you'll go check it out! I've got a lot of nautical and New England style paintings in the works and can't wait to share it all!
As you can see, there is a little pop up window here on this site to sign up for my newsletter. You get a free printable piece of art that I'm not offering anywhere else when you subscribe (you can see the print in the photo above); and the monthly newsletter will contain printable goodies, news, special deals, and inspirational quotes/stories. I'm excited to spread joy in my own way! I hope you'll consider signing up! Thanks!!!! :)

Tuesday, July 7, 2015

This spring we planted gardens...there were gardens when we moved here two summers ago but we let it go since we had no clue what was going on. Ha! Neither Chris nor I are gardeners and we know nothing. But, we decided to try and learn and we bought a bunch of seedlings of our favorite vegetables and have been giving it a whirl. Do you garden? What's your favorite thing to grow?

We are cutting our lettuces now (amongst an array of other things!) and it tastes like magic.
Here's to having no clue what we're doing but enjoying it anyway!

Friday, June 19, 2015

It is so hard to be the middle kid, isn't it?? As I write this, you are probably too little to notice or care much. But I want you to know that I love you so very very much. You are my bright sunshine and I feel bad that I've not given you as much starring attention here on our family journal!

This year, your third birthday fell just a few days after your brother was born back in January and we were in the hospital at that time. I thought of you that whole day and we celebrated your birthday with a little mini party when we got home a few days later. Of course, things got crazy and I never posted about your birthday here in this space! Grammie and Rico were here taking care of you while we were away having Liam. So, they were there for your little party. We had cake and you got to open your gifts from us, so you seemed pretty happy with the whole thing.
Grammie and Rico got you some cool little gifts you loved and your very own SLEEPING BAG with your NAME on it!!!! You LOVE that thing! It's got a big dog on it as the pillow for you to sleep on.
We gave you one of those Little Tikes Cozy Coupe truck things and a pretend gas pump that goes with it. You LOVE them and I'm so excited you were happy with your gifts.

Wow, THREE!
What a special kid you are! You are one of the happiest kids I've ever seen. You are jolly most of the time and always try to make everyone around you feel happy too. You are a bit of an imp and you get into trouble like most three-year-old boys, but you always mean well. You are very clingy to Mom and Dad right now and love snuggling and having special attention. You are fun to be with; you like to laugh and say silly things. You love to dance, run, ride your scooter, ride your tricycle and play baseball. You are leftie, so Daddy wants to encourage your pitching arm! You're already a great hitter! You enjoy tracing letters and doing puzzles. And you are working so hard on your potty training. We are letting you lead the way with that, and you've got it handled (for the most part!). We are proud of you and of how sweet you are. You are a good kind person and a loving one at that.
I love you so much Noah, and my life is so great because you are in it. I'm a lucky Mama.
Love you more,
Mama

Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Liam, you were baptized on April 19th at St. Joseph Church here in our little town. It was special and beautiful. I will work my hardest to teach you all about Jesus and why we live our lives to help others in our own unique special ways. We should always try our best to love others, no matter what. We need to pray for those who are in their hardest times and know that we are all equal and children of God. Every person matters and every person deserves love and an amazing life.
We love you little peanut!

Here you are with your proud Godparents (Auntie Anne and Uncle Brian) and Daddy making funny faces...